Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Hi All! SO very excited to have you join us on Social {Media} Butterflies' May blog hop featuring the fabulous designs of Liz Tamanahaand Paislee Press. Liz's minimalistic and classic design style has always impressed me. Besides her Midnight Edition Core Kit created for Becky Higgins Project Life Liz also contributes many of her designs to Studio Calico kits as well. She is one talented lady and we are so happy to have her join us this month! (I think I may have already mentioned that! ;) Thanks for joining us Liz!

If you are following along the hop, you have arrived here from >>>Kristin D's blog.

This month was particularly fun for me, because it got me back dabbling again in digital scrapbooking. Initially I was planning on doing a hybrid layout (traditional scrapbooking + digital elements) but ultimately I opted for 100% digital, because it is just so quick and simple!

This is an idea of what is included in the kit that I used to create my layout:

I have to admit, I really need to brush up on my digi skills. It took me a few minutes to remember how to add drop shadows and how to use clipping masks. Ack! But I did manage, however, to make a few of my own embellishments; the patterned paper leaves.

To create these leaves I simply opened up the Weekender patterned paper 5 in Photoshop Elements (I have version 10.0) like this:

Next I selected the cookie cutter tool from my tool bar palette on the left in this screen shot:
(The star shape beneath the "T" text tool in the screenshot below).

Then I chose the leaf shape by going into >Shapes and >Foliage & Trees and selecting the leaf pattern from the group.

I dragged this leaf pattern onto my patterned paper and sized it to my liking and then clicked leaving the cut leaf pattern below.

I then dragged and dropped the leaf pattern onto my background paper as shown below:

I moved the pattern around to my liking and then added a soft "drop shadow" to give it a bit of dimension: (Click on >effects>drop shadows choose your desired effect and click >apply. See top right of screen shot below).

*click on any image to view larger.

And there you have it, custom made embellishments! One of many ways to make the most of your digital scrapbooking supplies. Making custom embellishments is one of the many reasons I enjoy digital scrapbooking. I love that I never run out of paper or embellishments and I never need adhesive! (Not to mention clean up of the scrap space is oh so easy! ;)

***Please be sure to join in the hopping and post some love along the way! The Butterflies have a $25 store credit to Paislee Press (Liz's designs) over at the Lilypad that will go to one lucky winner!!

Here's how to increase your chances of winning:
Comment on my SMB Instagram post/s (user id: "SuzMannecke") with the hashtag #smbIGbloghop as well as on Twitter @SuzMannecke #smbIGbloghop for chances to win. A comment here will count as an entry as well. Increase your chances of winning by commenting on fellow contributors' blogs too! Winner will be posted Monday June 3 on the SMB blog!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hi All! Today I am highlighting a simple and fun technique; crayon resist. This technique is super easy and yet it challenged me to get out of my comfort zone a bit by playing more with mixed media. I was inspired by this blog post from mixed media expert; Julie Fei-Fan Balzer here: Crayon Resist Background.

To begin, grab a white crayon and draw out your design. For my layout, I drew my title, a large heart and a few other doodles. Then I painted over the crayon designs with watercolors. The crayon resists the watercolors leaving this fun effect:

See? Easy peasy! (*NOTE: I did find it a bit difficult to see the white crayon on the white cardstock, so one might want to lightly sketch out design in pencil first and then erase before adding watercolor).

I decided to outline my crayon drawings with a fine point black marker to make the designs pop a bit more.

Next, I used an exacto knife to cut my Basic Grey chipboard heart in half and also cut a slit through my cardstock for it to "pierce" the heart.

I added another slit for the other half of the arrow here:

Then I added my photo, embellishents, some machine stitching, stamping, rub-ons and a few all-over punches backed with cardstock. A fun and bright layout that actually came together pretty quickly. I definitely will be trying this technique again! :)

**NOTE: this card stock is super thick and difficult to punch through. My MS all-over punch met an early demise when I tried to punch through the cardstock a second time. Fair warning! :/

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Product Showcase | Basic Grey Hipster Wood Veneers

Happy Wednesday everyone! Excited to be back to share with you PRODUCT SHOWCASE and give highlight to some favorite products of mine that are available in the Come On Get Crafty Shop; the Basic Grey Hipster line, specifically the wood veneer embellishments.

When I first saw the Basic Grey Hipster line at CHA in January, I knew it was a must have for this momma to boys (although it really works well for either gender)!

In my layout below, I have utilized several pieces including the "totally" sentiment, the pointing hand, and the hang loose hand. I love that these wood veneer elements add texture and dimension to my layout without adding a bunch of bulk. (For adherence, I used Glue Dots and Tombo Mono Multi liquid glue, although other adhesives will work too).

*white balance off on first pic-I could've messed with more but you get the idea. ;P

I am a huge fan of these veneers! I think they really add a ton of interest to a layout. ;) It's a generous collection for the price and it's a great value for the added visual "pop." If you haven't already snagged a package of these hip products, just click on the "Shop Items" above and you are on your way! :)

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Hi there everyone! Today I have this blog post up here & over on COME ON GET CRAFTY --sharing with you a few ways to get the most out of your "mist stache." (S very sorry about the pun in the title-I just couldn't resist!)

I don't know about you, but I have a serious love for mists and in the recent weeks, I have been playing around with them a bit more, trying to stretch the ways that I can use them in my creations. So today I am going to share with you a few projects which show a bit of my creative endeavors using the mists.

To start off, I have found that I really enjoy using the mists as a kind of watercolor; opening up the bottle and dipping a paint brush in.

Here is a birthday card I made for my sweet momma. I simply cut out a Silhouette die cut and used a few Mr. Hueys to paint the roses and their leaves in. Then I added glossy accents over the top to add a little bit more dimension to the die cut and card.

And a few more cards, the second showing how to achieve a mottled effect by spraying a lighter colored mist first followed up by a darker mist and leaving a small amount of unmisted area.

For this card, I misted two different colors onto the die cut hearts. I tried to leave just a little bit of white remaining for a mottled-like appearance.

Next up, is a Project Life card that I spruced up a bit by painting an ombre (graduated hues) effect to the heart. I simply added more water to my paintbrush to get the gradient look. I really, really like this effect and plan to use it more in the future.

And lastly, I like using the mists over modeling paste which has had images stamped into it-to add a bit of color and texture to a card or layout. This one takes me a bit out of my comfort zone as I usually keep things pretty neat and tidy-but I definitely enjoyed getting a bit messy with this technqiue and have plans for several more creations implementing it in the near future.

Below I used modeling paste along with a Glitz Design rollerdoodle stamp + a Faber Castell gelato and Mr. Huey. I waited several hours to let the modeling paste dry before painting/spraying the mist on, but I don't think it's necessary. The hues might just be a bit darker due to saturation into the paste.

Saturday, May 04, 2013

You read that right! That is TODAY! (And for all of you Star Wars fans out there: May the Fourth Be With You!) ;)

What a fun and exciting day this is for all of us in the scrappy world! Today at Come On Get Crafty, National Scrapbooking Day is sure to be loads of fun with a bunch of inspiration from my fellow Creative Team members as well as some new goodies in the shop!! Be sure to follow and create along with us as we will be posting on Instagram, Twitter, Flickr (COGC Creative Team inspiration Group) and /or Facebook as we get crafty on this fabulous creative holiday! :) :)

Note: *You can follow me along on Twitter and Instagram "@SuzMannecke" to see what I am creating today. ;)

For NSD, the Creative Team's assignment was to scrap a vintage photo.
I really enjoyed this assignment because I think scrapping with vintage photos challenges me to create with something old (the photo) and to pair it with "some things new" (scrap goodies from the COGC shop). And I love seeing where this scrap journey leads me at the end of it all. ;)

My design was inspired by this "vintage" photo of my two older sisters, my cousin, and myself in the backyard of my grandparents' house on Easter Sunday in 1972. Hanging out with our Easter baskets and some adorable little snow bunnies, which I am sure my sisters created for the most part (Otherwise they wouldn't resemble bunnies at all with toddlers at the construction helm! LOL)

And since Mother's Day is next week (along with my sweet Momma's birthday too) I have a card to share with you as well. (Hopefully my momma doesn't check my blog before she receives it!) ;)

I stamped the center of the circle sunburst die cut with a little heart stamp and added two pins whose heads resembled flowers to the right hand side. I cut some patterned paper and tucked it behind the center Pink Paislee frame to mimic a flower vase. The Basic Grey alphabet chipboard "u" I painted over with acrylic paint to better match the colors in the card.

Friday, May 03, 2013

Hi All! Just dropping in to remind you to be sure to stop back here and over at the Come On get Crafty blog for a National Scrapbooking Day celebration of all things crafty! And for those of you who also are Star Wars fans; May the Fourth be with you!;)

There will be lots of inspiration from my fellow Creative Team members, fabulous sales in the store here: Come On Get Crafty Store Products and other crafty happenings over on the COGC blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Following along with me on Twitter/Instagram "@SuzMannecke" to keep up with all of the festivities and in-house creating! :)